A CdM Christmas

Yesterday, Sister and I started off our X-mas morning by visiting our alma mater.

We originally planned to go running at the Back Bay (last time I was here was over two years ago – so crazy!!). But, because the sun was shining way too brightly for Sissy’s liking, we decided to head home and wait until it had gone down a little bit. Yes, you have found the two crazies that wait until the sun goes AWAY to go out. It’s the Indian blood in us.

But, on our drive home, I requested that we stop at CdM. I was so eager to see what it looked like since it had been years since I walked around the campus. The 200 building (which is probably not what it’s called anymore since I went there over 86 years ago) was wide open so we skipped down the hallways and shared memories of all our classrooms, teachers, and events.

The tables outside the library looked entirely different. I remember the days when we would all cram together there and review our history notes with one another (AKA one of our friends was summarizing the chapter out loud and I tried to absorb as many key words as I possibly could so that I could spit something back out for the actual test).

Sister and I squealed a little bit when we saw that Mr. Sizer was still teaching. He was one of our favorite teachers there. He was the ONLY teacher who stood outside his door and shook every single person’s hand before they entered his room. This led Sister and I to search for him on Facebook and then Google him in hopes that we’d find out some more information about him. The only thing that came up was that he attempted to dance like Justin Bieber in CdM’s annual Dancing with the Teachers. Sister and I plan to write a letter to him and send it to the school to let him know how wonderful he is and how special he made our high school experience!

We also saw Sr. Rojas’ new classroom – Sr. Rojas was my Spanish teacher for two years (Spanish 1 and AP Spanish). He was another one of my favorites. He made learning so fun and I always looked forward to going to his class. As a teacher now, I often think back on my own experience throughout the K-12 years and I always try to bring in a little bit of my favorite teachers’ methods and styles into my own classroom.

So many things looked drastically different, but there were several areas that looked exactly the same. The cafeteria (where I ordered cheesy bread and frozen lemonade on the daily) looked untouched. As if nothing changed. Except now on the menu, they offer some healthier options. Like coconut water. Which is probably a better choice than the 857-calorie cheese bread I used to eat every morning. Although I probably would have STILL ordered the cheesy bread. That. Shit. Was. Bomb.

Walking around the campus was a really special experience – especially since I was doing it with Sister. We pointed out all the different spots around campus that were significant in some way or another. Like where our lockers were each year (Sister shared her locker with her friend and thought she was the coolest kid around). Or where we sat and traded lunches with our friends. Or which class I was in when we found out about 9/11. Or where I volunteered for Best Buddies each year (which first sparked my passion for teaching students with special needs. LOOK AT ME NOW!).

In keeping with the blast-from-the-past theme, Sister and I drove over to Anderson – our elementary school. It [surprisingly] looked exactly the same. Except we were just a LOT bigger.

When we got home, Sister and I walked to the store, got a few things, and then came home to make lunch. Later in the evening, we met up with the family on Google Video Chat.

Obviously, I would love to be up north with them. But, since that ended up not working out, this was our next best option. It is really amazing that we could still be “together” on Christmas.

I got Starbucks and LOTS of wine from my Secret Santa. Best present ever. Both thoughtful AND practical. 🙂

Then, Papa, Sister, and I played Bananagrams. I was up against the two of them. And I was winning. And they didn’t like that. So they forfeited. And I won.